


ATLA Concept Combo

by Sirithromeniel



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Avatar Zuko (Avatar), Azula and Zuko being siblings, Gen, Idea - Freeform, Other Airbenders, outline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:41:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24306838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sirithromeniel/pseuds/Sirithromeniel
Summary: A combination I would enjoy seeing, but don't have the skill/time to accomplish myself; so I thought I'd make it available to everyone else.1. Azula likes/gets along with Zuko (ref: Morality Chain, No Friend Like a Sister)2. Avatar Zuko (ref: Reluctant Hero, collected oneshots)3. Other Airbenders (ref: Embers - onmitsu, airbender=/= Air Nomads; Reluctant Hero, Airbender's Child - survivor enclaves)
Relationships: Azula & Mai & Ty Lee & Zuko, Azula & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 144





	ATLA Concept Combo

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MuffinLance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuffinLance/gifts).



> If I start adding other concepts, seeds, etc., then I'll make either a series or collection for them. So be aware of that potential edit.

At first Zuko doesn’t realize what he is. Azula does.

When they were small Zuko was sometimes visited by ‘invisible/spirit friends’ (probably just Yangchen) who showed him things discreetly to cheer him up after Ozai was horrible. One day he saw Azula feeling miserable and, to cheer her up, lead her to an abandoned orchard to make the petals dance for/around her. She figured it out almost immediately and poured all her charm into convincing him that things like this should be special and ‘just us’. Since they didn’t have anything that was just theirs and he was thrilled at his success, he agreed happily enough. They would occasionally go to the Orchard when one of them was feeling unwell or depressed and she would ask him to do something special ‘for me, Zuzu, please?’

Her thought process is something like:

  * Zuzu is a Dum-Dum…but also potentially one of the most powerful people in the world
  * Depending on who finds out first Zuzu with be **killed** (Father, tutors, *airquotes*noble*end airquotes* idiots), **used** (Uncle, Every Other Nation That’s Ever Whined About Us, …Mother?), or _some combination of the two_ (Grandfather probably)
  * Zuzu is a noble idiot
  * Zuzu will go along with it if they are just smart enough to give him the right reason
  * …
  * Zuzu is NOT THEIRS. THEY haven’t EARNED him. HE IS MINE. [picture a Dragon growling as it stalks and coils around something it has claimed, that kind of response]
  * **I will not let this happen**
  * …
  * Besides, Father says he’ll be Fire Lord someday, and no one’s stupid enough to make the Avatar the Fire Lord, so he is officially out of the way. And what could possibly hinder a Fire Lord who has the Avatar’s devotion? (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it, stop making that face Toph)



She actively works to cultivate his loyalty and encourage a deep friendship with him and ~~lies to herself~~ says it’s about playing the long game. Anyone who touches _her’s_ only has enough time to regret it. She filters who has earned the right to interact with him (Mother, damn.) and who she watches with death-and-extreme-suffering threat handy (pretty much everyone else). It’s not…good, but it’s not as actively poisonous either, she’s genuinely trying to steer him into thriving in spite of his too-honest/blunt-for-his-own-good nature, and she’s _always_ happy-to-share-with-him (WHY do you want to be a ninja Zuzu?! Just WHY?!?!?!). Even though she’s horrible at comforting people (it usually boils down to throwing Ty Lee at him…not literally…usually) they manage to get closer in the wake of Ursa’s disappearance (which goes a little differently, she was discussing whether to smuggle him out and trust he wouldn’t be able get back in or whether they should just run until she’s old enough to kill-all-the-things, Ursa overheard, got details, and acted accordingly), and she happily checks Grandfather off her list-of-potential-threats/obstacles (Go Mom!). …Zuzu, please stop crying. She reluctantly allows him to latch on to Uncle (a little bit, you still are in threat category buster) because she didn’t realize how much of the…people-and-compassion-things Mom had fielded for her and she understands how bad she is at them in spite of her analyses.

Meanwhile we have two options for Aang

  1. Aang convinces the other Avatars to let him go back to help the current Avatar (ref: Reluctant Hero)
  2. Aang was not the Avatar at the time of Sozin’s Comet. Some other poor schmuck was and he’s totally dead now…or maybe it was Gyatso? How much of a timeline tweak would that have to be? (I confess I’m totally up for taking all of it out of Roku)



He was born into either Ty Lee’s family (meaning he probably visited with her and Zuko was relieved to no longer be the dorkiest person in the building) or an enclave/other group (meaning separate introduction must be arranged).

Azula’s methods only work as long as Ozai lets them. Which is to say, only until Zuko manages to get into that War Room (DAMN IT UNCLE!!! Definitely threat! Absolutely threat! I will _kill you with my bare hands_ threat!). She _does not_ (by the skin of her teeth does not) go scream into her pillows in pure frustration for a week when she hears about the Agni Kai. Instead she channels that frustration into rage and powers through a year’s worth of work in a few hours to make sure no one can sabotage or assassinate her _what-were-you-thinking-you-DUM-DUM_ brother. The only relief to be had is that he does not enter the Avatar State (and subsequently get murdered, how did Father know?... _Did_ Father know?) but finding out about the banishment is incentive enough to shatter all the training equipment and get her first sparks of lightning. She encourages Ty Lee to go to a circus in the colonies, promising to continue supporting all such efforts if Ty Lee will act as her spy and secretly help her communicate with Zuko (after that _farce_ she _will_ not trust _Uncle_ as her go between), keeps Mai close as she dares to prevent any attempted murder (no, I didn’t mean prevent-me-from-murdering, oh whatever), secures her own position in Court, and starts polishing up on her assassination plans (they were _too nice_ ). Her conversations with Zuko before he leaves boil down to “You will _survive_ , I don’t care who you have to kill (or how) to do it. You will use this time to find teachers (Agni please let this not fail). And then you will _come home_. If it comes down to it, I’ll unbanish you as soon as I ascend, but I need you Zuzu, don’t leave me alone” (‘like Mom did’ goes unsaid). Then she rage-vents some more.

Zuko goes to “find the Avatar” (Spirits? Your sense of humor _sucks_ ) and conveniently learns a lot more than he expected about killing-the-spirit-monster-oh-Agni-WHY before eventually picking up his teachers (he honestly tries to hire Toph to help him *airquotes*find the Avatar*end airquotes* with half of his argument coming down to the fact that she’d be able to help the Avatar get away given her unique skill, when she’s done laughing herself silly she agrees on the condition that she actually gets to participate in the adventure), Katara is…less than thrilled…with his petition (he tries to meet the teachers Agni points him to privately, there’s less explaining to do that way) but Toph (and possibly Aang? Still not sure when Aang gets added, but I kinda want Toph to get in on things first of them) provides her own evidence that he’s more well-meaning dork than implacable enemy and they are offering enough in return (not least transportation wherever she wants) for her to brave it, Aang either gets picked up from an enclave at a similar time as Toph joins or Ty Lee sends word to her relative that Zuko actually needs a teacher (and friend far more) soon and their auras mesh too badly for her to teach him.

Team Avatar gets plenty of adventure and experience with spirit messes (and some of them start getting prickly at the treatment older officers-I’m-looking-at-you-Zhao give Zuko because, ok yes, he’s a mess, but he’s a decent person in spite of everything and when’s the last time _you’ve_ saved as many lives as I’ve seen him fighting to save _this month alone_?). They run into the essential/life-saving things from the canon show, but, uh…it doesn’t usually go that smoothly. On the other hand, Sokka has like, a baker’s dozen of teachers to choose from unlike the benders who are…surprisingly less versatile. And once Zuko gets used to _how_ Sokka improvises he gives him tutelage from Uncle (maybe Iroh also seeks to induct Sokka into the White Lotus) and all the support he can to do his thing in the best way. Then Zhao manages, once again, to convince Ozai to let him invade the North Pole…right about when (or perhaps shortly after?) Zuko & co. arrive for Katara’s comparative waterbender training (she got some from other sources, but she wanted a _Water Tribe_ education and Zuko’s all for learning all the things). Z&co were polite, sitting just outside the border, communicating openly with the scout ship that found them, letting the Water Tribe siblings do the visiting/talking while the rest of them studied/focused on other things (Aang is Iroh’s Pai Sho buddy for life within a week of arrival, just saying), gave the scouts time to communicate with the Council of Elders and return with their verdict: Princess Katara is welcome to learn healing, and Prince Sokka to train with their warriors, but everyone else…it would be best if you remained in your suites (to which Zuko offers that the *airquotes*offensive members of the ship *end airquotes* can go wait near the Northern Coast, if only for Toph’s comfort). While they’re deciding what to do, Uncle gets word of what Zhao is planning and they have to shift gears (he does not know about the ‘kill the Moon’ part of the plan or it would be significantly easier to get Zuko on board with ‘let’s dock in the place that doesn’t see more than two of us as people – and barely them – and try to convince this foreign culture that we’re _not_ the bad guys’ because then Zhao would be targeting _Agni’s baby sister_ and even if _Zhao’s_ that stupid nobody deserves to get the flack/backlash for his stupidity). When they do learn about Zhao’s actual intent Uncle is not surprised (but a little disappointed) that Zuko’s first, second, and third plans involve the Admiral’s assassination; Arnook is much happier with these plans.

**Author's Note:**

> @MuffinLance: I won't say you started this. I'm pretty sure the seeds were there before you came along. But you made it more acceptable to do things like this in-fandom, so it's on you.


End file.
